- [David] "A Fork in the Road" was brought to you by.

- I'm Tyler Harper.

As your agriculture commissioner, I have the honor of representing one of the hardest working groups of people in our state, our farmers.

That's why we invite you to take the Georgia Grown Challenge.

Try any Georgia specialty crop against any other state's produce, and you'll pick Georgia Grown.

♪ Picture perfect hang the picture on the wall ♪ ♪ I see you shine from afar ♪ ♪ Yet, to me you are a star, all right, baby ♪ ♪ Feels good, feels fine ♪ ♪ Take the feeling pass it on ♪ ♪ Just pass it on ♪ - I'm Tyler Harper.

As your agriculture commissioner, I have the honor of representing one of the hardest working groups of people in our state, our farmers.

That's why we invite you to take the Georgia Grown Challenge.

Try any Georgia specialty crop against any other state's produce, and you'll pick Georgia Grown.

- The fascinating and ever-changing world of agriculture.

Let's hit the road here in Georgia and meet the farmers, producers, makers and bakers who keep us all fed and keep us coming back for more straight ahead at the fork in the road.

(singers humming) ♪ I came from the mud ♪ ♪ There's dirt on my hands ♪ ♪ Strong like a tree ♪ ♪ There's roots where I stand ♪ - [David] Georgia farmers, artisans, merchants and producers.

We depend on these men and women every day of our lives through the choices we make in the food we consume.

Their strategy and approach is always shifting, but the end game remains the same, results.

(gentle upbeat music) (upbeat music) It can be quite nostalgic to do things the way they used to.

There's an art form to it.

A wisdom that is often passed down through the generations.

There's that feeling of accomplishment and in many cases the end result can often be a better product.

This week we explore a few farms that operate in a more traditional method, old school.

(singers humming) We begin this old episode up in Dillard to visit a Georgia tourism and agricultural landmark that's been delivering fresh Georgia-grown goodness for a century.

(bright upbeat music) This is Captain John Dillard, fresh off his service in the American Revolution.

Captain Dillard was awarded this land grant of 1,000 acres in these gorgeous north Georgia mountains and valleys for his valiant service during the war.

Since that time, the Dillard family has preserved and maintained this land, opened it for visitors, and have shown genuine Southern hospitality in the form of cozy shelter, outdoor activities, and legendary cuisine.

I had the chance to spend some time with direct descendant, John Dillard, and his friends and family to learn more about the amazing history of The Dillard House in Rabun County, Georgia.

- He received land grants and he also negotiated some land with the Cherokee Indian and that's where the family started, right here in Rabun County, right here on this plateau.

In one direction is the Little Tennessee River, and then the other direction is the valley with crops and different local produce and Rabun Gap schools in the distance also.

I never take for granted living in Rabun County.

Living in Dillard, Georgia is a special part of Rabun County and I encourage people to come to Dillard, because they can make it a hub and spoke.

We have like 100 hotel rooms.

We serve three meals a day so you can come stay, eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but during the day you can visit Rabun County and be able to see a lot of Georgia.

(upbeat music) - [David] It's fair to say that no weekend trip to The Dillard House is complete without a journey to the stables.

After meeting the friendly and quirky farm animals, my friend, Pam, took me on a ride through these seemingly untouched hills, rivers, and valleys of Dillard, Georgia.

(upbeat music) - I'm Pam Thompson.

and I'm owner operator of Dillard House Stables- - Okay.

- since 1989.

- 1989, anything changed in this area since 1989?

- [Pam] You know, not in this valley, and especially, the Southern hospitality of The Dillard House that hasn't changed.

- There's a lot of history, not just with the Dillard family, but with even Native American history in this area.

- Yes, this valley was actually, where the Trail of Tears began.

This was a Cherokee village that was large even by European standards.

As you ride, sometimes you might find a arrowhead or a piece of pottery.

It's kind of cool.

- That just adds to the whole experience.

Yeah, we're walking through that field and you're telling me the history, and then we go in the river.

I haven't done river riding before.

This is a great experience.

I feel like I'm kind of working off that breakfast.

(Pam chuckling) (gentle music) And if you think a trip to The Dillard House isn't complete without a journey to the stables, it would be a travesty not to include the restaurant on the list as well.

The history of the food, the freshness of the food, the portions.

Where do I begin?

- Well, my great-grandmother developed the restaurant side of our family heritage here and her name was Carrie Edwards Dillard as she was a really good chef.

Carrie Dillard, that's when she grew her own vegetables.

So, that's actually,- - Nice.

- the farm right there.

Back then, the family had to survive.

So, in the spring and the summer and fall and winter, each season had its own unique vegetables that they grew in the area and then she would also can and prepare vegetables and things that she would store to use in the other parts of the year.

But she grew her own vegetables and also she would allowed farmers to bring vegetables to The Dillard House.

So, as the spring turned into summer, the tomatoes would come in, blackberries, the corn, and the cabbage.

It gives the menu a fresh way to experience Rabun County, because it actually, comes from our own soil.

(gentle upbeat music) - All the way back to Carrie Dillard, she tried to make everyone feel at home and that still holds true.

So, I've watched generation after generation of families bring their kids and now those kids are bringing their kids, and so, it's just a good place to come.

This hasn't changed.

It's one of the great things that's still like it was 100 years ago, really.

- [David] So, topping off my glass with a little 12 Spies wine from Rabun County Vines, it's fair to say I was full, comfortably full, and excited to share the tales of my visit to Dillard with friends and family.

A special place in the mountains of Georgia, proudly run by a family who's been linked to this land since our country's beginnings.

(nostalgic music) (singers humming) Let's now continue our old school journey across the Appalachians to Gainesville, Georgia, and another longtime family farm with rich history.

(gentle upbeat music) Lee Hemmer isn't the first to walk this old road.

His family roots go way back.

These Tamworth hogs are one of the oldest breeds to be domesticated, and the meat is special.

Then traverse the fields to where the Belted Galloways roam, mixed in with a few other breeds, some that stand out a little more than others.

There's a sense of pride when Lee and his parents tell their story, and there should be.

They work hard, do great work at that, and seem to have a good time in doing so.

- This farm's been in the Reynolds family, which is my mother's maiden name, since 1802, my ancestors came down from Virginia and settled this area, originally 3,000 acres, now it's about 400 at this point.

Her side of the family's lived here since then.

Some of the original dwellings are still here.

Today, we raise Belted Galloway cows and Tamworth pigs and we sell the meat and the livestock to various people coming from all over the state and the southeast really.

And the meat we sell to local markets.

And we also have a market, which where we are selling our produce as well.

(upbeat music) - [David] Why the Belted Galloway?

- The Belted Galloway, they're gentle, docile animals.

They're a heritage breed, very hearty.

They don't mind being outside in the weather and they're survival animals.

I mean, they've been around for hundreds of years.

One of the original breed of cows originally from England, that area.

And they're not all Belted Galloways.

We have, as you can see, a longhorn back there.

- [David] You're getting photobombed by the Longhorn.

- Yeah, he's always wants a treat.

And we also have Aberdeen Angus and a Wagyu bull.

So, we've kind of mixing it in some.

- [David] Is the meat different on a Belted Galloway?

What is the difference?

- Yeah, it's very lean.

They low on cholesterol.

It's great hamburger meat.

Since everything's naturally raised, we don't finish out the cows, and that's why we're cross-breeding 'em with the Aberdeen Angus and the Wagyu.

These are the Tamworths, and these are one of the oldest breed pigs known and they're from the Isles of Great Britain, specifically, Ireland, and been over this country since the early 1800s.

They don't do well in commercial farms, because they grow slower and they don't do well in captivity, in a pen.

They like to be out free ranging, foraging around eating acorns.

They're very hearty, they're good mothers, they don't sunburn easily, because of the color, and they're very friendly.

- [David] I've noticed.

Like you said, they're not the most common, but it's important to you to be raising these.

- Yeah, that's right.

They're heritage breeds.

The commercial farms don't raise 'em, 'cause they slower to grow, but the meat is phenomenal.

It's just old-fashioned taste.

A lot of marbling.

My grandfather was a butcher in Gainesville back in the forties and fifties, and he raised livestock and pigs right here where we raised them today.

The biggest one we have is I think is this girl right here.

She's a big girl - [David] Now, that is a big girl.

- She weighs about 950 pounds.

- [David] What do you think it's meant to this local community to have a place like White Sulphur here?

- The thought that this is still being done in an area that's growing so fast and that you can buy locally-sourced meat right here under your nose.

And that's, I think a lot of people like that.

(gentle upbeat music) You keep rubbing her and she'll probably just lay down.

- [David] There you go.

Right into the other one.

Who do we coming to see here?

- [Lee] This is the daddy.

He's the guy that likes to see the ladies coming.

- [David] Yeah, he is a handsome fellow.

- He's probably the fourth boar that we've had.

This one came from Science Hill, Kentucky, actually.

Breeders of Tamworths are far and few between.

I'm the only breeder in the state, and so, when I need fresh genes, I have to go a long way away to get 'em.

All my pigs, all my livestock are registered animals, and so, it's kind of important for me to get that good blood, those good bloodlines.

- [Lee] So, then there's the name of the farm, White Sulphur.

- The community that was started around here really had to do with, there was a resort close by White Sulphur Springs resort.

There was a five-star resort equivalent to that back in the old days.

And people would come from all over the place to stay there, bathe, and drink the water, because they thought it was therapeutic, and they thought it was good for you.

- [David] What do you think?

- [Lee] It would cure elements.

It smells like rotten eggs.

So, we have a filtration system to mitigate that smell and that flavor now.

But there must be something to it, you know, my ancestors lived to be ripe old age.

- [David] Well, after a walk through the woods and the clearing of fall foliage, we found the source.

The spring itself that drew people to this land in the first place.

- [Speaker] But there's the spring where Lee is.

- [Lee] There used to be a pipe, a metal pipe, sticking up in the spring, right up in there.

You can see where it was carved out for a little pipe.

Kind of see the round area they carved out and it would just fill up the bucket.

- [David] And that's what brought everybody here.

- Yep, it's been flowing for no telling how long, 500 years.

Who knows?

This was the location of an old cabin and a store and we call this the Fagan's Place, because the Fagan family owned it.

As you can see, there's two cellars here.

There's one kind of cellar area here and one cellar area over there, and then they're connected.

So, legend has it when they were inside and there was a threat of Indians, they would get down into the cellar and there was a trap door there that led into that cellar over there.

So, they were to hide.

- Oh, wow.

Fagan's well.

- The Fagan's well, and it was hand dug and you can see on the edges of the well there's indentations for your feet.

When they dug it, they put those in.

So, if you had to right to get back down in there to dig it out, you could easily get down in there.

- [David] How deep is that?

- [Lee] That's probably 30 feet.

Lots of history here.

(gentle upbeat music) - [David] How special is this land to you and keeping it in the family through the hard work Lee's putting in now as well and Mary.

- It's very special to us and we are so delighted and humbled by the fact that both of our children are interested in preserving it as farmland.

Every day we get letters, emails, phone calls, because it's so close to the development that is occurring all along the highway and our great wish, and it's always been our wish, that it could be preserved, because if we figure if they could do it for 200 years, we hope we'll be able to continue that, but we have not put any restrictions on what our children do with the land.

It's very important to us that now they care as much as we do about preserving it.

Probably, it will be one of the only large parcels left in our part of the world.

So, we're really thankful for them, for both of our children.

- That ties in really with my family And from the days gone by, it's just the sentiment of being in your family for so long that draws you back to this place.

- [David] What a special place.

Cruising this property, soaking in history, and getting to know this family was quite a treat.

Hanging with hogs in their happy place, making friends with Belted Galloways, a curious Longhorn, and a few other friendly farm animals.

It's fair to say that the land of White Sulphur is in good hands and will be for some time.

(singers humming) Let's now journey southwest to Junction City where an old grist mill keeps grinding amongst the few other old American industrial relics.

(gentle upbeat music) A mill has been on this land since the 1840s, and this particular mill has been grinding since 1930.

Folks often see the giant grinding stones as a relic of the past, but here at Fielder's Mill it's just a part of the machine and the results are as fine as the grits themselves.

- My name is Mike Buckner and this is Fielders Grist Mill.

My mother was a Fielder and my grandmother gave me the place, if I would continue to call it Fielders Mill.

She didn't have any boys, so she wanted the name to continue.

So, I said, "Grandma, I sure can do that."

So, she let me have the place and I've been running the mill now 53 years.

I started running the mill after my grandfather died in 65.

At the time, my grandmother ran the mill and hired a man to deliver for her, and I was 14 at the time she gave the mill to me and I continued with the gentleman.

He would do my meal route for me, but when I became 16, I had to let him go and it's been a one man show ever since.

In the 1800s, and up into the 1900s there were grist mills pretty much all over the county and state I'm sure.

So, you could almost walk from your home to a grist mill.

(dramatic music) - [David] Everything is mechanical and powered by water.

A force from nature that is beautiful to witness.

- The millstones we have out in front of the building here came from other mills.

Our stone that we are grinding on today, I know is 90 years old, because my grandmother, grandfather could date it for me.

The ones you see out front came from other mills as they deteriorated or maybe burned and my grandfather collected those and brought 'em here.

- [David] Mike can change the grinding results from super fine flour to cornmeal or grits.

It's all about this rock grinding stone and its rotation.

- I'm going raise this wooden gate and it's gonna let the water flow through the dam here through a concrete pipe into the well.

That flow of water and the pressure that's going to build up in the well is going to turn the turbine.

It uses a tremendous amount of water.

(dramatic music) When I used to get a lot of combine corn, it had a lot of crash in it, and this was the only way to get it out.

(machine whirring) (corn thundering) Well, we looked at the cleaner a few minutes ago and how we cleaned the corn, and now the corn's been brought over to this pipe and it's a storage area so that I can let it out as we need it.

And then I check it too to see if the cleaner missed anything, but I believe it did a pretty good job on this.

On grits we can grind 200 pounds probably in 30 minutes.

- [David] Folks can swing by and purchase a bag of ground corn from Mike here at the mill and some people bring their corn for him to grind.

- When I first started running the mill, nobody wanted grits.

That was just something we did as a novelty to give away to neighbors and friends.

But now, grits are one of my main products that I sell.

I sell probably as many grits as I do corn meal.

Grits are coarse enough, because they won't bind together.

Corn meal is more like that, a lot finer.

Well, we're tying it up, and we've got it bagged in two pound bags and I use these little wires to tie it with just because that's the old traditional way.

It stays fresh for maybe four or five weeks on the shelf in your house.

But if you want to keep it longer than that, put it in your refrigerator or freezer and it'll stay fresh forever.

(gentle music) - [David] The place itself is amazing to witness, not just the mill, but the entire property is a lesson in history.

From this bell tower just up the hill that's still boast a resounding ring, (bell ringing) or follow the train tracks to his personal depot where a few locomotive rarities reside.

- [Mike] Marietta, Georgia.

- [David] It'll be the only one working?

- It'll be the only known running engine.

There are two or three more known Glover engines, but they're just static display.

They're not operating.

- What year?

- 1916.

- [David] You got a half a mile of track here.

- Yeah, laid.

I got another half a mile laid out, and I just hadn't done it.

- [David] You never quite know what you're going to find when picking up a bag of grits.

The fun part now is following the instructions to cook the perfect bowl of Georgia-grown grits.

(singer humming) Let's now journey to the fields of Moultrie, to attend a longtime agricultural event that showcases new and innovative equipment and technology.

(upbeat music) It's everything you could imagine in the world of agriculture.

From giant tractors, seeders and irrigation systems to state-of-the-art computer technology, and massive drones.

With over 1,200 exhibitors, it's North America's premier farm show.

Welcome to the Sunbelt Ag Expo.

- Georgia is always happy to host this event.

It's our number one industry, so it gives us an opportunity as a state to showcase the new advancements we see in agriculture and precision technology, and that's what's neat about the expo.

I've been coming to this since I was a young boy and this year it's even more special to us.

Here is the commissioner of agriculture for our state and our team is here in a big way.

In ways that we continue to help our farmers and producers right here in our state to be successful every single day.

(upbeat music) - [David] There are exhibitors sharing ideas for farmers, both big and small.

There are small business entrepreneurs here, massive international companies, and non-profits spread throughout the 100-acre exhibit area and adjoining 600-acre working research farm.

- [Tyler] That's the great thing about the expo, is because it brings industry and farmers, producers, and ranchers together in one place where you can come see and talk to those industry partners, equipment manufacturers, one on one.

Talk to them about the equipment, the advancements they've made and why it would make sense in your operation.

And that's opportunities that you don't really get in some cases anywhere else.

- This is a agricultural drone.

It's got a 10.5 gallon tank on it.

It weighs 88 pounds dry with nothing on it.

We've got a additional tank you can slide in.

A dry tank that'll hold 110 pounds of fertilizer, seed, whatever you want to put in there.

You can see right here it's doing right at two and it's going to drop its rate all the way down to near about nothing.

And then when it starts back up, it's gonna start going back up and you'll get all the way up to about two gallons per acre is what we're shooting for.

- [David] The expo's really the perfect place to have a piece of equipment like this.

- We have been very busy today running this thing all day long.

- Flint River Fresh, we've been partnering with this site for about five years now.

We kind of took it over to utilize it as a community food demonstration plot.

So, we carved up a backyard garden and what we showcase here are just different examples, different techniques that people can utilize for their school garden, a community garden, an urban plot, a community orchard, and just show the different ways you can grow and the different seasonal crops that are available here about mid-October.

In some areas, we're finding out like people never gardened before, don't have like the vegetable skills, and so forth.

So, we encourage them to have like a plot of land, why not establish like a community orchard with like multiple trees planted.

So, we have citrus trees, we have blueberries that are planted, peaches and plums on and so forth.

And we showcase different varieties.

So, this is like our salad bowl mix.

So, on this one we have different like lettuce greens, so you are looking at a way to eat fresh salad.

So we have a little bit of bok choy, little bit of kale, little bit of butter crush, little bit of romaine.

- [David] So, you clip some and then is it gonna keep growing?

- It keep growing.

That's it.

So, it's like I want some salad today.

Okay, good.

Take a little leaf, got a little salad.

And what we do here that's unique at this site, once the harvest is ready, we worked out a relationship with the local Colquit County FFA students.

So, they come out here, they harvest the produce, and we donate back to the Colquit County food bank.

So, every year we're donating roughly about 2,500 pounds of fresh produce to the local food bank.

And that's what it's all about, it's fresh, it's accessible, and everybody can participate in knowing where that food comes from and understand like the benefits of it.

- [David] It's an old school expo with new school innovation.

An important few days of sharing ideas, presenting the latest and greatest in the world of ag, and most importantly, one-on-one interaction with like-minded farmers who believe in a strong and healthy future of agriculture.

(upbeat music) So, from a family farm raising a unique breed of hogs and cattle to an annual ag expo showcasing all things new and innovative in the world of farming to an old family farm, restaurant, and mountain escape, keeping up old traditions, and a man and his mill grinding away for the love of the trade, These are all shining examples of how old school approaches can still boast effective and impressive results.

I'm David Zelski, see you at the next fork in the road.

(upbeat music) "A Fork in the Road{" was brought to you by.

- I'm Tyler Harper.

As your agriculture commissioner, I have the honor of representing one of the hardest working groups of people in our state, our farmers.

That's why we invite you to take the Georgia Grown Challenge.

Try any Georgia specialty crop against any other state's produce, and you'll pick Georgia Grown.

♪ Picture perfect hang the picture on the wall ♪ ♪ I see you shine from afar ♪ ♪ Yet, to me you are a star, all right, baby ♪ ♪ Feels good, feels fine ♪ ♪ Take feeling pass it on ♪ ♪ Just pass it on ♪ I am Tyler Harper.

As your agriculture commissioner, I have the honor of representing one of the hardest working groups of people in our state, our farmers.

That's why we invite you to take the Georgia Grown Challenge.

Try any Georgia specialty crop against any other state's produce, and you'll pick Georgia Grown.